Senator Markey Statement on Senate Vote to Reopen Government After 40+ Day Shutdown

Washington (November 9, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement announcing he will vote against legislation that does nothing concrete to reduce health care costs for 22 million American families, including 337,000 people in Massachusetts, who are now receiving notices that their coverage costs may double or triple when Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits expire at the end of the year.

"Our dedicated federal government workforce deserves to get paid, and I am glad this deal means the government will reopen, that employees will be returning to work, and that they will receive their paychecks, including back pay. I am also glad that this deal will prevent Donald Trump from further delaying SNAP benefits for hungry children, senior citizens, and families.

"But this legislation does nothing concrete to lower costs or protect health care for millions of Americans from MAGA Republican attacks, and I cannot support it. Families in Massachusetts and across the country cannot afford to have their health care coverage double or triple in cost," said Senator Markey. "They will not be able to afford their housing, their grocery bills, their electricity bills, or other day-to-day needs if they have to spend tens of thousands of dollars more because of Republicans' decision to kill critical Affordable Care Act tax credits. This health insurance time bomb coupled with deep cuts to Medicaid will also be a brutal one-two punch that devastates community hospitals throughout the United States, leaving millions of Americans with reduced care or no care at all. Trump and MAGA Republicans have been shutting down the government since Inauguration Day, gutting Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act and engaging in the greatest health care heist in history - all to pay for tax cuts for CEO billionaires. The American people want us to stop the heist, not drive the getaway car.

"To all the Senate Republicans inclined to oppose a simple one-year extension of the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits when the vote is held in December, you do so at your political peril. The American people will remember your vote at the ballot box."

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